Berkinshire
by NightHawk921
Summary: Duo a prince? Heero a slave? AU, 2x1, torture
1. Berkinshire

Warnings: 2x1 (later chaps), AU, and some other stuff  
  
Disclaimer: don't own anythign but the story  
  
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It was a bright, sunny, beautiful morning in Berkinshire that found the prince, his right hand man and two of his guards out in the market-place, which was buzzing with people, all running around looking at the goods the venders had put out. Berkinshire was known for its market place. It had one of the largest in the known world. Everything from sleeping remedies to love potions, and house supplies to evening wear could be found there. It was most famous, however, for its spices, jewelry, and slaves.  
  
The peasants all moved out of the way as Prince Maxwell, Lieutenant Chang, and the two fierce looking body guards walked by.   
  
"So, what are you looking for in your slave today, your Majesty?" asked the princes Asian companion.  
  
"I donno, just something that is pleasant on the eyes" said the prince lazily, observing the different colors of garments hanging on racks and being worn by the peasants. The prince took in a large breath of air, smelling the mixture of spices and food in the air. "Ahh Wufei. This is the life. It is such a beautiful day today. Don't you agree?" He said turning his face up to the sky.  
  
"yes...yes, it is a beautiful day today, your majesty" Wufei said, turning his face to the heavens as well.   
  
"Oh, come on Wufei, cut the formalities already, you know how much I hate it" Wufei chuckled by his side.  
  
"Of course, Duo, but it is such fun."  
  
"Ah, yes, of course." smiled Duo, now looking at Wufei. "Oh look! we're here!" Wufei turned his head to look at what Duo was now staring at. They had reached the slave port.   
  
"Don't you think its a little scary how they keep then chained up in cages?" asked Wufei in a whisper to Duo.  
  
"Nah, its good for them, shows em' they're not in charge." said Duo walking over to the head man of the port.   
  
"Good day Prince Maxwell! So good to see you, can I help you with anything?" said the head man, who was a rather old, short man.  
  
"Yes, I am in the market for a new slave. Preferably a young one."  
  
"Ah yes, we have a new shipment, just arrived, you'll be the first to have a looking at 'em!" chirped the old man happily.   
  
"Oh, excellent! lead the way then"  
  
The old man lead the way to the docks, where cages with slaves inside were being wheeled off a large trading ship. "These are the new stock" said the old man pointing to the cages. Duo moved one of his hands up to his chin to rub it, and placed the other behind his back as he walked along the row of cages observing eachs occupants.   
  
Duo paced back and forth a few times before he stopped in front of a cage in the middle, who's occupant was crouched low, huddling in the back corner of the cage. Filth and dirt covered his face and body. "I would like to see this one" said Duo pointing to the slave.  
  
"Of course!" replied the old man happily, removing some keys from his pants and unlocking the cage and grabbed the chain connected to the collar around the slaves neck and pulled to make him move out of the cage. The slave was stubborn and tried to hold onto the cage to prevent himself from being dragged out. "George, John, get over 'ere and help me remove this slave from the cage!" yelled the old man to two young men who were helping to unload the ship. When they herd him call they immediately came running to see what needed to be done.  
  
"Oh man, this ones bloody stubborn!" cried George, "it was hell gettin' 'im in there in the first place. had to wrestle with him. John, your smaller and I did it las' time, get in there and bring 'im out." John gave George one wary glance before he got on his hands and knees and crawled into the cage. The slave, if possible, pushed himself even farther into the back of the cage trying to get away. John wrapped his arms around the slim waist of the slave and started to pull, all of course to no avail since the slave had successfully wrapped his fingers around the bars and was firmly content at staying there. "God damit!" John muttered as he grabbed hold of the slaves hands, trying to pry his fingers off the bars. After about 15 minutes and a whole lot of curses, John was finally successful in unleeching the slave's hands from the bars. He folded the slaves arms across his chest and then wrapped his own arms around them to prevent them from grabbing back onto the bars.   
  
The old man pulled the chains as John struggled with the squirming slave to get out of the cage. Finally they emerged from the cage, John, getting to his feet, sweating and panting, and the slave huddling low to the ground avoiding the 5 pairs of eyes watching him. "Stand up slave!" yelled the old man. "Stand up before I whip yeh sorry ass!" the slave didn't even flinch at the threat, he just stayed there, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.   
  
"Wait!" cried Duo stepping closer, "No need to resort to violence and scar him...Just pick him up so I can see him better."   
  
"Of course...George, you herd 'im. Lift 'im up!" shouted the old man, swinging his arms up in exasperation.   
  
George walked around the slave, put his arms under the slaves arms and heaved him up. Holding him in a standing position. Duo looked the slave over several times, a twinkle of admiration in his eye, before speaking again. "How much?"   
  
"100 pounds, tha's a real bargain for somethin' this good. But since he's untrained and stubborn, I've lowered the price 50 pounds."  
  
"100 eh? that is good. I'll take him! Wufei, pay the kind man, please, and guards fetch us a carriage please, I'm sure this slave won't behave just because he's been bought!" Wufei walked towards the old man, pulling out his change purse and handing the man the money, as one of the guards walked off, back to the market-place to call a carriage.   
  
After being paid, the old man walked over to the prince, "This slave is from Glembogle, ya know the place, right? Rumored tha' the people don't speak there. Well I think that tha' might be true. Haven't herd 'im say a damn thing since we've had 'im, and tha's been about six months!" explained the old man  
  
"What do you call him?"   
  
"Heero. Tha's wha the Glembogle King call 'im when he sold 'im to us."  
  
"Wait, a king sold you this slave?"  
  
"Yah"  
  
"Is that common?"  
  
"Not usually, but it has been done before. The Glembogle King said this boy was being banished from the lands. I donno what for, I'm not the type to be meddlin' in royal business, if yak know what I mean?" said the old man starting to chuckle again.  
  
"Yeah, yeah I know what you mean" said Duo, "Well I must be going, still have some other business to attend to."  
  
"Oh, of course, I'm sorry to have keep yeh from your business!" cried the old man looking truly sorry.  
  
"its alright." said Duo patting the man's shoulder, "have a good day!" he said as he started to walk away waving back at the old man and his two helpers.   
  
"Yes, you too!" replied the old man, waving back frantically.   
  
"Well, this has been most enjoyable, don't you think Wufei?" asked Duo as they reached the carriage one of the guards had gotten.   
  
"Yes it has" said Wufei, climbing in after Duo. One of the guards lifted the slave into the carriage before climbing in himself and sat next to him, hands clenching the chain that was still attached to the collar around the slaves neck in an attempt to stop him from bolting out of the door.   
  
"You surely picked a feisty one Duo" said Wufei  
  
"Yes I did. I think I will be having a lot of fun with him." said Duo, a smirk starting to cross his lips.   
  
"I'm sure you will." said Wufei, smiling a knowing smile of what the Prince would most likely be doing to the slave in the near future. 


	2. The Escape

Warning: torture (possibly some confusing parts, its late at night and I haven't had much sleep this past week (sorry))  
  
Disclaimer: don't own, some names of places I have made up, others I have herd somewhere  
  
Thank you to all those who have review. you have really encouraged me to write this fic more. I was planning on alternating between this story and Club Ravine, but because so many people review, I decided to put the other story on hold for a little (don't worry those who are reading it, I will finish it) and work on this one some more. I hope I haven't destroyed this chapter too much and I hope you like it as well! if not, it will try to redeem myself with the next chapter.  
  
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Chapter 2: The Escape  
  
The castle loomed ahead, drawing ever nearer. Duo, who was sitting right across from his new purchase, keep an admiring gaze focused on the slave. He turned his head slightly to see the large outline of the castle on the hill.  
  
"Your new home Heero." He said, turning back to study his slave once more. Heero, who had been staring out the window for the whole trip, made no acknowledgment as to having herd Duo.   
  
The castle was huge. Much bigger than the castle Heero came from. There were five towers, four on the corners and one in the middle, which was by far the largest and tallest. The castle was surrounded by a moat, with a draw bridge.   
  
When the carriage had reached the castle gate it stopped to let its passengers off. Duo did not let just anybody cross the bridge into the castle's courtyard. The guard who had been sitting in the front with the driver paid the mad before making his way to the back to help his master and superiors out of the carriage. Duo gratefully accepted the help, but Wufei politely declined to withhold his honor. The guard who had been sitting next to Heero grabbed a hold of his right forearm and brought him to the door, where the second guard grabbed hold of Heero's left forearm and helped pull him out of the carriage. Once on the ground the guards did no loosen their hold on him, but instead tightened their grip, just to make sure nothing happened. Though it seemed their efforts were wasted since Heero had stopped squirming a minute after the carriage had left the port, and was now walking idly between the guards to the castle.  
  
"Bring him to my rooms" Duo told the guards, "I will be up shortly, I just have to stop by the King and Queen"  
  
"Yes, Sir" the guards replied together, and led Heero in the opposite direction of Duo.  
  
The castle's court yard was huge. The front of it was mostly a dirt area, used to park carriages and horses. The Stables were on the left side of the courtyard. The dirt road followed around the perimeter of the courtyard. Carriages and horses were stopped along the way.  
  
The middle of the courtyard held a large water fountain which was surrounded but hundreds of different colored flowers, all of different hights and sizes. It was absolutely beautiful. The center of the fountain contained a Unicorn, with the water coming out of its horn.  
  
The guards led Heero to the far side of the courtyard and entered a side door. They entered into a huge hall, lined with pictures of royalty. A large plush couch lined the far wall with a glass coffee table in front of it. Little ornaments decorated the room, each housed on some surface or hanging by the window, letting light shine through them, creating rainbows on the walls.   
  
The walked through a door directly in front of them and found themselves in what looked like a study. A Large mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room with a stack of papers in a little off to the side on it. A picture frame sat on the right corner of the desk and a feather and ink set sat by the far edge of the middle. Two old style leather chairs sat opposite the desk, with a third bigger one being the one behind the desk. Books lined the walls from the floor to the ceiling. a large picture window was set behind the desk, giving a wonderful view of a lake. The study had a cozy yet dark and stuffy feeling to it.   
  
The trio made their way yet again through another door, this time to their left. This item they entered a bed chamber. A huge king size bed sat against the far wall with sheen drapes drawn around it, heavier satin drapes were tied off at the four posts of the bed. Another picture window lined the wall across from the bed, also giving a marvelous view of the lake. A fire place was set on the wall the door they had just walked through was on. Two large, fat armchairs sat in front of it with a woolly rug in front of the hearth. The guards led Heero over to a clasp in the wall on the opposite side of the bed and attached his chain to it. Locking it in place. Without a word they turned and left the room, leaving Heero to look over his surroundings.   
  
Duo was true to his word, it couldn't have been more than five minutes before he entered his bed chamber. However he entered an empty room. Startled Duo looked around. He walked over to the wall that Heero was supposed to be chained to and discovered the collar still attached to the chain connected to the wall. However, Heero's neck was not in it. In fact, Heero was no where to be found in the room, nor in any part of Duo's rooms. He immediately notified his guard that his new slave had escaped and ordered everyone to start looking for him.   
  
During the search for the slave Duo ran into Wufei.  
  
"Wufei, I want you to go to Glembogle and find out everything you can about Heero. I want to know why he was banished and sold by the king himself. He must have been somebody, or done something huge to have that kind of attention."   
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Go now" Duo said, answering Wufei's unasked question, "there are enough people searching for him, he's still in the castle, we'll find him.  
  
"As you wish, my lord." and with that he walked to the weapons room to gather the needed supplies and to appoint the guards he would need to accompany him on this mission.   
  
Meanwhile, eight hours later, Duo was sitting in his study, looking out the picture window when somebody rapidly knocked on his door.   
  
"Come in" he said, not turning around to see the new comer.   
  
"My lord, we have found the boy." This got Duo's attention, he quickly swiveled the chair around to look at his slave and his slaves escort.   
  
"Where was he?"  
  
"He was in a broom closet in the basement."  
  
"The basement?" said Duo, raising an eyebrow, "How did he get all the way down there without anyone noticing him?"  
  
"I do not know, my lord. We found him because we herd the door close. When we opened it we found him huddling in the corner."  
  
"Well thank you for returning him, Williams" Duo stood from his seat, picking something round off his desk and walked over to Heero. "Because you escaped so easily from your old collar I have decided to give you this new one. It is made from Dragon's skin. Only I can take it off of you. It is enchanted to prevent you from picking it, and it is also a very good locator." Duo pulled something out of the pocket in his robe, "This thing here tells me where you are. See? it says 'Duo's study.' Oh, and I should probably also mention that if you do anything that disappoints me I can just press this little button and it can tighten, making it harder for you to breath, I'm sure." said Duo pointing to a little blue button on the thing he pulled out of his pocket, "And this one," he said pointing to the red one, "will produce spikes, which will stick into you neck, which I'm sure is also rather uncomftorable. now, you know how you can prevent me from doing either of these things to you?" Heero didn't say anything, "Don't piss me off. You follow my orders and I won't have any reason to do it. But alas, you have already upset me. Along with a punishment, I will try at least one of these out on you tonight. hmm...which one should I do?" Duo looked up, placed the hand that wasn't holding the gadget to his chin and began to tap his foot in order to give the impression that he was thinking.   
  
"I think I'll start with this one" he said pressing the red button. As soon as his finger released the button thousand of tiny spikes began to slide out of the collar and press into Heero's neck.   
  
"Oh, this is fun! but I don't see any blood! maybe we should make the collar tighter." he said as he pressed the blue button. Again, the instant he lifted his finger from the button the collar started to tighten. The spikes dug deeper into Heero's neck, prickling the skin. "No, not good enough" Duo pressed the blue bottom again. The spikes drove in deeper. Heero's neck was on fire, but he would not show any signs of pain or discomfort. He could feel the moistness of his blood on his neck now starting to slide down.  
  
"Oh, what do we have here?" Duo said stepping forward. "Look at that. it's such a pretty color." he said, reaching a finger out to tough the warm blood seeping out from the collar and then placing the finger in his mouth. "mmm...so good. I can't wait to really taste you" Duo said in a deep whisper, giving Heero a sly smirk, sending a slight, unnoticed shiver down Heero's back.   
  
"Well, don't think that was your only punishment. Oh no. you have much more in store my friend. Much more." Duo took his arm and led him to a door in the corner. Through the door was a dark, stone walled room with all sorts of gadgets lining the walls.   
  
"Its a good thing the only thing you guys wear is a loin cloth. Saves time taking your clothes off, and prevents them from getting stuck in the wounds" As Duo was saying this he was chaining Heero's arms over his head and his feet to the floor in the center of the room. Once Duo was sure that Heero wasn't going anywhere he walked over to the wall to pick out the 'tools' he was going to use. The first thing he picked was an old whip, crusted with old, dried blood. He walked back behind Heero, standing a few feet away.   
  
As he lifted his right hand which was holding the whip he said, "I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I will," and brought his hand down, allowing the whip to make contact with the slaves smooth back. The whip hadn't even gone the whole way down before it was lifted up again and brought back down upon his back. Repeatedly Duo lifted the whip only to have it come crashing down moments later. But no matter how many times, or how hard, Heero made no outward show as to feeling any pain. Blood was running steadily down his back by the time Duo had finished with the whip. Duo was panting lightly from the force he had used to deliver the blows to heero's back, but he didn't seem to notice it as he dropped the whip where he stood, walked to the other wall and picked up some ammonia and rubbing alcohol.   
  
"Well we should probably clean your back a little, shouldn't we?" he asked as he unscrewed the two tops and poured the two liquids into another container together. Then Duo took an old cloth hanging on a hook, drenched it in the mixture and pressed it onto the bleeding back. Soon the container was a mixture of blood, alcohol and ammonia, but still Heero hadn't made a sound. Duo was becoming very angry now. Never before had anyone lasted this long. They usually at least cringed or shook when the whip had hit them for the 20th time!   
  
"I have one last thing for you tonight, my sweet." Duo picked something round off the floor a few feet away and walking in from of Heero so he could see what it was.   
  
"See this? this is a nice little waist band." The 'waist band' as Duo called it, looked just like a large collar with spikes. "This is another thing you will get the privilege of wearing." said Duo, walking closer to Heero and opening the band. He closed it around Heero's mid-section right under the breast bone. The spikes dug into the skin, drawing more blood. Heero was starting to feel a little dizzy from the blood loss, but was determined not to show it.   
  
Once Duo was done securing the 'waist band' to Heero he stepped back to admire his handy work. "Now, you might want to keep in mind that moving around will really hurt with those spikes in you. so if you want that thing to come off, behave, and you are not allowed to leave my rooms unless with me. you are my personal slave. There is no reason why you should need to leave the rooms anyway. Understood?" Heero did nothing, "Good, I'm glad we understand each other."   
  
Duo unchained Heero's hands and ankles helped him into his bed chamber even though heero tried to brush him off. Once in the bed chamber Duo chained Heero back to the wall and walked over to the bed where he changed into his night shirt and got under the heavy covers.   
  
Heero curled himself into a little ball and squished himself into the corner to try and keep himself warm since he had no blanket and the cool autumn air was entering the room through the open window.   
  
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alright thats it for this chapter. sorry it took a while to get out, i wanted to get it out sooner, but work took up my time and prevented me from working on it. if everything goes as planned, i should have the next chapter up. hopefully, by the end of this week.  
  
thanx again to all those who have reviewed!!!!!!!!! and to everyone else reading this, please R&R!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	3. Obedience

Warnings: torture, citrus, 2x1  
  
disclaimer: huh?  
  
Sorry for the long wait. it has been very hectic here. but here is the third chapter, which seems to me missing something to me, but read it and tell me how it was. Thanx and enjoy!  
  
**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed!!!!!! I love you guys! you guys are great!!!! I know that last chapter was a little violent, especially towards Heero. Though I hate to tell you that I thought that it was rather watered down, and I was going to have a more gory violent one later. I was actually going to do that in this chapter but you guys have convinced me to hold off on it for a little while, maybe I won't do one TOO bad. I'll have to see what I feel like when the time comes. thank you again to all my reviewers!!**  
  
// thought //  
  
On with the story!  
  
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Chapter 3: Obedience (revised)  
  
The night was long for Heero. The floor was hard and cold, and the slight breeze coming through the open window was constantly sending a shiver down his spine. Not to mention the spikes from the waist band that kept moving around, reopening the wounds every time he tried to move. The only good thing was that Duo had retracted the spikes from the collar before he went to bed. He eventually settled to sitting in the corner, his knees brought up to his chest, arms wrap around his legs and his head resting on his knees.  
  
Heero finally found sleep in this position but was awoken all to soon by the roosters screaming and Duo waking up in a very noisy unprince-like manner. Heero slowly unwrapped himself, careful not to move his waist to much to prevent the spikes from moving and found himself sitting in an Indian style position.   
  
Duo yawned, sounding as if he was trying to imitate the roosters, and stretched on the bed, slipping under the covers to hide the light from his face. From the corner of his eye, Heero saw the covers moving around before he saw Duo's head reemerge from the opposite side he had entered, and look in his general direction. By the time he had gotten his bangs out of his face, Heero was no longer looking at him, but had his face turned toward the wall, examining it.   
  
"You look absolutely delicious!" said Duo, a hungry smile on his face, "Why don't we see how well you are in bed, hmm?" Duo started to climb out of the heavy covers that had tangled themselves around him, and crawled over to Heero, who still wouldn't look at him.   
  
Duo crawled over the floor slowly, delaying the encounter and trying to get Heero to acknowledge him. He didn't. Heero was still sitting Indian style so Duo decided to take the opportunity and crawled into his lap, wrapping his arms around Heero's neck. Though he didn't get the desired effect of Heero turning his perfect face to him, he did feel his body tense up which sent a sly smile to his lips.  
  
"Come on Heero, you can look at me. I'm not going to bite you, well, not hard anyway." He leaned in to place slight kisses down Heero's neck, sending another unnoticed shiver down Heero's spine.   
  
Duo's lips brushed against the side of Heero's neck, above the collar, blowing lightly at first and then placing soft, gentle kisses across his neck. When he wasn't getting any response he started to use his teeth, taking a little of the skin and biting softly, not wanting to break the skin. One of Duo's hands moved away from Heero's neck to run down his bare, muscled chest. His fingers barely touched the skin, tracing the contours of the chest.   
  
Heero, who had decided it was much easier to submit to Duo's will than face another beating had been all ready to obey orders today. But this was going to far. He weakly attempted to push Duo off of him, using all the strength he had left. He was only successful in pushing Duo's body a few centimeters away from his own, but it was enough to catch Duo's attention.   
  
"So, you are still alive. Well that's a good thing, I was starting to worry!" He said as he moved closer to Heero, wrapping his arms around his waist. However, before Heero could react and try to get Duo off of him, he felt the waist band being removed. He looked at Duo quizzically. "I had a dream last night. It was good. I think I'll give you a second try and take this away from you. But just remember, I can put it back on just as easily as I took it away."   
  
Duo removed himself from Heero and walked to a chest along the wall, and deposited the waist band inside it before walking back to Heero. "Come, lets have breakfast, I'm famished!" Duo held his hand out to Heero to help him up. Heero, who was shakily getting to his feet, reluctantly accepted it.   
  
Hand in hand they walk to the other side of the bed chamber where a table was set up with two place settings. Duo lifted a chain that was connected to the wall near one of the seats and connected it to Heero's collar. "This is just to assure that you don't go anywhere if I have to go." Once the chain was connected and Heero was sitting, Duo walked to the other chair and sat down.   
  
The table was full of food. A wide variety of muffins filled the center bowl, stemming eggs sat in another bowl next to the muffins. Bacon and sausages were piled high on a plate, and a platter of fruit and cheese sat off to the side to finish the feast. And a jug of milk sat in a ice box to keep it cool.   
  
"Eat up my sweet! you have a long day ahead of you!" Duo took no time at all to fill his plate with a selection from each plate, bowl and platter, and it took him even less time to finish his first serving and start to pile up his plate for a second time. It wasn't until he was about to stuff his face for the second time that he noticed that Heero had only taken a small corn muffin and was only nibbling at it.   
  
"Come on, what's wrong? Eat! Your going to need your strength. Believe me. I'm not going to change what I had in store for you today, and if you decide to go on without food in your stomach than that is fine by me. But don't think for a second that I will lighten up on you. Do you understand?" A slight nod showed he had been herd. "Good" and with that Duo stuffed his face for the second time that morning.   
  
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Heero had only managed to eat half of the muffin he had taken. He had not received much food on the long journey on the slave ship and he was in no mood now to improve his eating habits. So far the morning had been easy. After breakfast Duo had started Heero on Dusting his study. This was easy enough as it only consisted of wiping a brush across everything in the room a few times. And because there was hardly any dust in the room, due to house servants cleaning it everyday before Heero arrived, it took not time at all.   
  
As Heero made his way around the room, Duo sat at his desk doing work. Or rather, looking down at his papers for a few moments only to have his attention drawn back to the young man dusting his study. Duo was brought out of his admiration of his slave by a slight knock on the door. Heero looked over to Duo for instruction, "Open the door for them," said Duo, leaning back into his chair.   
  
Heero walked to the door, and pulled it open, standing to the side to let the person in. A guard walked in, panting a little.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt, my Lord. But something has happened."  
  
"What?" said Duo sitting up in his chair.  
  
"The servants are unable to collect eggs from the chickens."  
  
"...What? what exactly do you mean, George?"  
  
"The women collect the eggs and put them in the baskets, and tun back to collect more eggs. But when they turn back to the baskets the eggs they just put there are gone! And when they look under the chickens that they have already removed the eggs from, they find that the eggs have been replaced!"  
  
"How?"  
  
"They don't know, my Lord. The women have driven themselves to tears. They have been struggling to collect the eggs for the past hour. They feel God is punishing them for some wrong they have committed."  
  
"Well that is just ridiculous. What wrong have they committed?"  
  
"They do not know."  
  
"I should go and talk to them, and try to cheer them up. Tell them that they have done nothing wrong and I will be down shortly. Oh, and after you do that, get the wizard."  
  
"Yes, my Lord." Said the guard as h bowed to his prince and turned to leave. Heero opened the door for him and stood to the side once again, letting the guard out, then closed the door behind him and walked back to the spot he had been dusting before the interruption.  
  
Duo straightened his papers on his desk and took a chain out of the bottom drawer to the desk.   
  
"Now, my pet, I do not trust you to be left alone in here yet, so I must chain you again." Duo walked over to Heero and connected the chain to the collar, then led Heero to the other side of the room where he connected the chain to the wall. "That's a good boy now. Stay right here and I will return as soon as I can." He said, placing a light kiss on his slaves lips before leaving the room to calm the servants down.   
  
As soon as the door closed behind Duo, Heero let off a small smile.   
  
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Duo reached the chicken coop shortly after. The women were still desperately trying to collect the eggs, all, of course, to no avail. Duo could hear their pitiful sobs. He cleared his throat to announce his presence. Immediately the women stopped and bowed to him.   
  
"What seems to be the matter here?" he asked  
  
The woman closest to him answered, "Ww...we ca-ca-can't get th-th-the eggs!!" she said, bursting into a fresh set of tears.  
  
"Well then they obviously don't want to leave their mothers today. Leave them and find something else to do." and as an after thought he added, "Cheer up, nothing is wrong, you won't be punished."   
  
"Thank you, my Lord." the women chimed as they started to leave the chicken coop.   
  
Just as the last woman left the coop, a young man could be seem walking towards it. This man looked to be about the same age as Duo, though a little older. He had a strange hair style, that only let one bright green eye to be revealed. No one could figure out how he did it, but Duo new. This young man was the castle's wizard. He used his magic to keep the hair in its odd form.  
  
"My Lord, what seems to be the problem here today?" said the young man who had finally reached Duo.  
  
"Trowa, so good to see you. There seems to be a problem of collecting eggs this morning."  
  
"Oh, well, whatever do you mean?"  
  
"It seems as if everything an egg is taken, moments later it mysteriously is replaced where it was taken from. The women have been trying all morning to collect the eggs."  
  
"Well, that is surely suspicious. What would you like me to do?"  
  
"Well first I would like you to see if you can discover who set this trick, and then I would like you to stop it so that women can do their job!"  
  
"I shall try my best to accomplish both."   
  
"Thank you. I would love to stay and watch, as I love watching you work, but I must go make sure my new slave is still in my study. Once you have finished come find me and tell me everything you have learned."  
  
"As you wish, my Lord."   
  
Duo left Trowa there to hopefully discover who the culprit was, and made his way back to his study, where he found Heero busily dusting the books. Heero made no knowledge at all to having heard Duo enter the room, but Duo had other plans. He walked over to his slave and slipped his hands around his waist, resting his head on the back of Heero's shoulder.   
  
"hmmm....This is nice." Duo's hands started to wander, he left one wrapped around Heero's waist to draw invisible circles around his navel, but the other he let rise to the chest. Where it rubbed against the smooth, tuff muscle. Heero ignored Duo and kept dusting. This increased Duo's need and made him more adventurous, moving his lower arm down to the loin cloth. His fingers reached the edge of the cloth, threatening to enter before Heero showed his discomfort by trying to buck away. However, Duo's arms were strong and tightened around him, which only made Heero panic more. He tried to wriggle out of Duo's tight hold, elbowing Duo hard with his free arms.   
  
After the second blow from the elbows, Duo let go of Heero with the arm he had wrap around him chest and caught both of the frantic boys arms before wrapping his arm back around him, making sure Heero's arms were trapped firmly in the hold. In all the excitement Duo lost his control and dug his teeth into Heero's neck. Heero froze as he felt his blood trickle out of the wound and trickle down his neck. He felt Duo places his lips over the wound and suck the blood. He felt the blood being suck out of him; forced out of him, and into Duo's waiting mouth. He felt the little energy he had slipping from him. His knees gave way, but Duo didn't notice, his strong arms kept his prey up.   
  
A knock sounded at the door, drawing Duo out of his blood lust.   
  
"What is it now?" he groaned, releasing Heero, who slumped to the floor, and wiped his mouth of the blood.   
  
"Come in!" he called.  
  
The door was opened and Trowa walked in. "Ah! Trowa, what did you find out?"  
  
Trowa walked up to Duo and whispered, "Nothing, absolutely nothing. There was no trace of magic ownership."  
  
"Magic wasn't used?"  
  
"No, no, magic was used. that sort of thing can not be done without magic. But all magic has a mark of their owner. Very good wizards and witches can hide their mark, but even then a little something is left over, but it is not enough to determine who set it. But who ever did it is one powerful wizard or witch because I have never before seen or herd of anything like this. Not a trace! That's unprecedented!"  
  
"So what exactly does that mean?"  
  
"I don't know. If there is someone that powerful in this area who wants to cause you trouble I don't know why they would do something so idiotic as that. If they had that much power, one would suspect that they would do something that would cause more damage."  
  
"Well, wha-" Duo was interrupted by another knock at the door. "My God!" he said through clenched teeth.  
  
"Come in!" he cried.  
  
The guard from earlier that day entered the room, he was panting heavily, obviously having run from somewhere in to castle to Duo's room very quickly.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Sorry, my Lord, but the ceiling the Queens personal wash rooms has disappeared!"   
  
"WHAT!?"  
  
"It's completely gone, the sun is shining in on the Queen!"  
  
"How did this happen?"  
  
"No one knows. One of the Queens maid came screaming out of the room when it happened. And my Lord?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"There are no more steps."  
  
"What do you mean there are no more steps?"  
  
"The steps have all turned into slides. Its quite fun to get down, but damn near impossible to get back up!"  
  
"Gone? No steps? Ha! Trowa, did you hear that, there are no more steps, and we have a skylight in the Queens washroom!"  
  
"Yes, I have heard."  
  
"What can you tell me about it Trowa?"  
  
"Absolutely nothing. Its being done by the same person, and I can't track them." Trowa felt horrible. He was loyal to his prince, and hated it when he could not help. And this was something that needed helping.   
  
"Thank you George, I'll think of something to do."  
  
"Thank you, my Lord." and he turned and left the room.  
  
"All right three strange things in one day. Its a record!"  
  
"Duo this is serious. We have to find out who is doing this."  
  
"Yes, I know that, but it seems like we have a little problem with that. I don't do magic, and you can't track them. So how shall we do this?"  
  
"Well, what do you know about your new slave?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What do you know about your new slave?"  
  
"Why, what does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"I don't know, but you got him yesterday, and these weird things are happening today. He hasn't even been here a full day and things are happening."  
  
"You said a powerful wizard is the only one who can hide like this, how could the boy be doing it?"  
  
"I never said the boy was doing it. But he was banished right? Maybe he knew someone, or something and they are doing this."  
  
"Why would they be doing stupid things like that and not do anything to help the boy?"  
  
"Well I don't know everything, but I have a feeling the boy is related to all this somehow."  
  
"You may be right, but look at him, he's passed out, and only 17 or so, how could be possibly be doing it, and he can't be in contact with anyone because he doesn't speak!"   
  
"All I'm saying is be careful, and watch him carefully."  
  
"All right I will. And you, I want you to try your best, do everything you can think of to discover who is doing this."  
  
"Yes, my Lord." Trowa showed himself out of Duo's study and back to his rooms to find some way to solve this mystery.  
  
When Trowa left, Duo turned back to Heero and picked him up and carried him to his bed, where he placed him down. "What are you doing to me?" he whispered to the unconscious figure. He walked into his washroom and soaked a small towel in cool water before bringing it out and placing it on Heero's neck that still had blood trickling out.   
  
//Why did I drink his blood like that? That's disgusting! I don't even know where the idea of that came from. But his blood is so good, it's addicting!//   
  
Duo was startled by his train of thought. "I liked his blood?" he whispered to himself, "Am I a vampire? No, I can't be, I only want his blood, no one else's. What's happening to me?"   
  
The setting sun cast gloomy shadows across the room, and Duo realized fully that something really wrong was happening, and he didn't know how to solve it.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
and there we go, the long awaited third chapter! I'm sorry it took so long, and it turned out a LOT different from what I was expecting. But isn't that the fun of writing? well I hope you all enjoyed, and please, please, please! if you have any ideas or and suggestions or criticisms (other than my spelling and grammar cause I'm trying to fix that) please tell me. ideas help produce chapters quicker! anyway, enough blabber from me. I must go and put this up before work! again, I hope you enjoyed it! 


	4. A Changing Tune

Warnings: slight lime, cursing   
  
Disclaimer: I just bought the rights!!! go me!!!! (yeah, I wish!)  
  
Thank you again to all my reviewers. I'm glad you like this story, and I hope the rest of this story will make sense because i now have a beta reader YEAY!!!!!!!!!  so I would also like to thank LadyJessy, for helping me make this better!   
  
And I am incredibly sorry it took so long to get this out. Its actually been written for about 3 weeks or so, and then it just took me forever to do the corrections LadyJessy pointed out to me. I just haven't had much time with school and all, I'll try to get new chaps out quicker, but I don't know how well that will work out. Sorry again for the wait!!!  
  
--------------------------------   
  
Berkenshire: Chapter 4  
  
Early morning sunlight flickered through the bedroom's open window, lighting up the room.  A light morning breeze blew across Heero's face, making the young man stir. He awoke to find himself lying on something very soft, wrapped in something very warm.  He felt weak and had a splitting headache, not to mention his neck was stiff, his waist was sore, and his back was on fire. He tried to sit up, but found that even that simple movement hurt too much, so he soon abandoned all attempts of trying to move. However, his attempts had awoken Duo. At first, the only clue Heero had that someone else was on the bed was of something tightening around his stomach. Then there was a loud, rooster-like yawn.   
  
"Mmmm.....How are you this fine morning?" Duo asked, snuggling in closer to Heero. "Still not talking, huh? Well, that's a pity."   
  
Heero felt Duo move away from him and Heero hoped that meant Duo was leaving. However, in the next moment, Duo was sitting on his hips, straddling him. Heero had the feeling of being a trapped animal in a cage. Duo's hand reached up and gently turned Heero's chin so they were looking at each other. Dark violent stared straight into cobalt blue. Heero watched as Duo's head came closer to his. When he was an inch away Duo stopped his descent and just stared at Heero.   
  
"You are so beautiful," Duo said in a low husky voice, before   
  
closing the gap and connecting their lips. Heero, as usual, didn't react. Duo ended the kiss and cooed, "It's only a kiss, my sweet. You are a personal slave. Don't you know what that means? It means it's your job to please me. Now, I don't know what is so hard about a kiss, but believe me, I could do a lot worse to you! Now, let's try this again, shall we?" Duo leaned down again, but this time when their lips met, Heero opened his allowing Duo's tongue access to his mouth to explore it, and exploring Duo's in turn.   
  
Heero lay on the bed passively, only reacting enough for Duo to be content at the moment. Heero was use to this. His life had not been much better in Glembogle. He knew it was useless to resist but he still had a free spirit and tried to defy authority as much as possible. However, due to his recent treatment as Duo's slave and the harsh environment from the slave traders, his health was not what it once was. When healthy Heero could take this torture without a second glance, but now, in this weakened state, it took a toll on him. And if he was going to get out of here anytime soon, he had to be in good health.  
  
Duo broke the kiss so that they could both breathe. "Mmmmm.....now that was a kiss! See was that so hard?" Duo removed his hand from Heero's chin, but he just turned his head to face the window, ignoring Duo.   
  
Duo chuckled at this. "Don't worry, your safe yet. I'm not in the mood to do to much more than a kiss; even though you look so tempting." And with that Duo pushed himself up off the bed, leaving Heero staring out the window.   
  
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In the neighboring Kingdom, a young king talked with his advisor about the strange happenings in Berkenshire...  
  
"Mysterious things are going on in Berkenshire?" the young king asked his advisor.   
  
"Yes, your Majesty."   
  
"And they don't know what's causing it?"   
  
"That is correct, your Majesty."   
  
"Interesting.... do we know what's causing it?"   
  
"Our men are working on it. They have an idea, thanks to Leon, who's been working in the kitchens there. Its uncanny all the information he has found out."  
  
"Can the information be trusted? Is it true?"  
  
"Yes, he checks all his information with different sources to make sure everything connects."  
  
"Good, well what has he discovered?"  
  
"The young prince has recently acquired a new slave of foreign origin and an interesting background."   
  
"Why is it an interesting background?"   
  
"He was banished from Glembogle by the king himself."   
  
"Really. Well, that is most peculiar. Your idea is that this new slave is doing it?"   
  
"Well we use to, but now we're not sure."   
  
"Not sure? Why?"   
  
"Whoever is doing these things is very powerful. Their trace in the magic cannot be found. Only a truly powerful witch or wizard is capable of something like that. And to become a powerful witch or wizard requires a lot of time and practice. The new slave is much too young to even have close to the power required for hiding his trail."   
  
"I see." said the young king, tapping his fingers on the arm rest of the throne. "So, you think it could be someone who knows this slave, and is trying to rescue him?"   
  
"Well, at first, yes. However, they are doing really strange things if it was a rescue mission. Of course they could be doing it, just to throw them off."   
  
"No, I don't think so. I think we should keep our eyes on the slave."   
  
"Sir?"   
  
"It's just a feeling I have. Okay, Zechs?"   
  
"Yes of course, your Majesty. I'm sorry to have questioned you."   
  
"That's all right, you're forgiven," the king said with a smirk.   
  
"Such the joker you are, Lord Winner."   
  
"Yes, yes, of course. That is what I have always wanted to be, but alas it was not to be."   
  
"I'm sure your not that upset."   
  
"You know what? Your right! The King has the power of the nation! I will shape Queedmore, to be better than Berkenshire! King Maxwell and his girlish son will wish they never messed with us!"   
  
"You tell them, your Highness."   
  
------------------------------------   
  
The early afternoon sun shone down on the Berkenshire castle. "I need to meet with some people now," Duo said to Heero, who was still lying on the bed. "I'm going to leave you here, but I have to chain you up." Duo walked to the bed with a chain in hand. He crawled onto the bed and hooked the chain onto the collar, then the loop on the wall above his bed. After the chain was securely attached at both ends Duo leaned down to give Heero a kiss before leaving for his meeting. When their lips met, Heero's opened without hesitation, much to Duo's surprise and delight. After the kiss was broken Duo praised his slave, "Your learning! That's wonderful! Well I must be going now, have fun lounging in bed all day!" With that, Duo hopped off the bed and skipped over to the door. When he reached the door he turned around and blew Heero a kiss before walking out.   
  
A little while after Duo left the room, all the doors disappeared, leaving Heero in a room with no way to get in or out.   
  
---------------------------------------   
  
The king of Berkenshire was not in a state of mind to be able to rule his nation as kings should, therefore Duo, being the heir to the throne took up the king's duties. Even though Duo would not formally be named king until his father had passed on.   
  
Duo's meeting with Queen Relena had gone fairly well. In her own mind, she thought she was a true pacifist, but Duo highly doubted it. As he liked to say, "What pacifist is in control of one of the largest armies in the world?" That was the reason Duo was meeting with her. They were working out a peace treaty, but in doing so, Duo was hopping to acquire some use of Queen Relena's Army. If it wasn't for the army, Duo would have never agreed to meet the prissy, self absorbed Queen of Mordad.   
  
Now that the meeting was over, Duo excused himself and asked one of his servants to show the Queen and her adversaries to their rooms in the guest wing.   
  
The meeting had been held on the other side of the castle from his rooms, so Duo used the time to admire the castle decorations on the walls and ceiling, and the events happening outside. Duo had just made it to the west wing of the castle, which housed his rooms, when he noticed it looked very strange. It only took him a minute to realize all the doors had disappeared. He was getting ready to yell for a servant to explain what was happening until he saw someone running towards him.   
  
"Milord! Milord!" The servant said, out of breath as he was slowing down to stand in front of his master. He seemed to be shaking in fright.   
  
"What?"   
  
"I have been sent to tell you some good and some bad news."   
  
"What's the bad news?"   
  
"We-e-ell, the doors from the west wing have gone missing, Milord."   
  
"the west wing doors have what?"   
  
"Gone missing."   
  
"What do you mean the doors have gone missing? What does that mean?"   
  
"Where there use to be doors there are now walls."   
  
"Fuck!" Duo said, then slammed the side of his fist against the closest wall before leaning his head against it, "What's the good news then?" He asked.   
  
"Wufei has been spotted on the road, he should be back in a few hours" Duo lifted his head from the wall to stare at the servant.   
  
"Wufei? Are you absolutely sure its him?"   
  
"Yes, Milord."   
  
"Prepare the meeting room for Wufei and I. I must speak with him as soon as he returns."   
  
---------------------------------------   
  
Its short I know, and I'm sorry, but I wanted Wufei's report to be in the next chapter not   
  
this one. Sorry! Hope you liked it! 


	5. The Report

Warnings: nothing really for this chapter Disclaimer: ummm...yeah I donno, its still on my waiting list  
  
**I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this new chapter up. School has been horrible this year and I've been so tired that I just never got a chance to really sit down and write this. I hope this chapter turns out good to make up for the wait.**  
  
Chapter 5: The Report  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The trip had been long and tiring. Wufei was glad to finally see the castle in the distance, getting closer with every step the horses made. His time in Glembogle had been extremely frustrating. At first no one seemed interested in answering any of his questions, or even admitting to have banished anyone in the past year. Wufei was getting ready to give up and return back to Berkinshire when an old man hobbled his way into Wufei's presence, while he was sitting at a booth in the local bar nursing a beer.  
  
"Good sir, I've heard a rumor that you have been looking for information on a boy known as Heero Yuy." The old man said, leaning to the side a pit putting all his weight on his cane.  
  
Wufei, who had been staring idly at the wall across from him, turned slowly to look into two old green knowing eyes. "I had not known the last name, but the boy I seek information on is called Heero."  
  
A smile lit the old man's features as he took a seat on the bench across from Wufei, raised an eyebrow at the audacity of the old man, but quickly composed himself when the man started speaking again, "I've been trying to find information on the boy as well. I believe we can be of use to each other."  
  
"I need information on his past and the reasons he was banished. Only the people at the castle can answer my questions, how do you think you can help me?"  
  
"Aren't we quick to judge! Just because I don't wear the clothes not look the part, it doesn't mean I wasn't once associated with the castle and the King. Look, I knew Heero when he lived here. All I want is to know how he is doing now. I suggest a trade. I tell you about his past and banishment, and you tell me where he is now and how he's doing."  
  
Wufei nodded his head, "Alright."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
That had been a day ago, and Wufei was eager to tell Duo all he had learned.  
  
The castle was in front of him now, and some of the barn hands were waiting to take the horses back to the stables for some much needed rest and food. After Wufei had gotten off his horse a servant came up to him and told him that Duo was waiting for him in the meeting room. Wufei thanked the servant and made his way into the castle to meet with Duo. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Duo was pacing back and forth in the meeting room when he heard a quick tap on the door.  
  
"Come in!" he called. Wufei walked into the room, closing the door behind him before making his way over to the table. He noticed Duos anxious state and was getting ready to ask him about it when Duo spoke first, "So what have you found out Wufei, anything?"  
  
"Yes, your majesty I have found some very interesting news."  
  
"Well don't linger, tell me everything you know!"  
  
Wufei made his way to a chair and took a seat; Duo followed his example and leaned forward with his elbows on the table.  
  
"My first few days there were uneventful. No one would tell me anything. On my third day there I was sitting in a bar relaxing with a beer, thinking about returning home, when an old man by the name of Odin came up to me. He offered to tell me about Heero's past, if I could tell him about Heero now.  
  
"Odin was the Glembogle mage, the King's right hand. Heero was an orphan that Odin has stumbled across one spring morning when he had been walking the lands. Odin had decided to raise Heero as his own, hoping to teach him the ways of a mage. However he soon discovered that Heero was blind when it came to magic, unable to yield or control it. Odin finally relented to making Heero his assistant instead, collecting herbs, mixing ingredients and so forth.  
  
"The King has a daughter named Relena who took a liking to Heero. She perused him to no end but he consistently ignored her and never uttered a word to her. She became obsessed with him and claimed him as her own, forcing her father to make Odin sell Heero to her. Odin refused and instead used his magic to make her get hives and headaches every time she went near Heero. She was stubborn and kept after Heero anyway. Apparently Heero took matters into his own hands then and one day while she was pestering him he turned to her and grabbed onto her dress, pulling hard until the fabric started ripping. Relena started screaming and yelling trying to bat Heero's hands away from her. A servant nearby heard her screams, came running, and saw that Heero was "trying to rape" her. The King furious that his daughter was almost made impure by an underling banished Heero from the lands. Selling him to slave traders who where passing by at the time."  
  
Wufei was pleased that he had been able to find out so much about his majesty's new slave that he hadn't noticed Duo's contemplating look until Duo asked, "And what about Odin? What happened to him then? What did you tell him about Heero?" "Well the King as fired Odin almost on the spot for bringing such an "unclean" child into his daughters presence. I told him I did not have too much information except that Heero was now living in Berkenshire as the slave to its King."  
  
"And what did Odin say to that?"  
  
"Actually he didn't say anything. He just gave a slightly surprised look and shook his head. Then he thanked me for the information and left."  
  
"Ah, I see." said Duo.  
  
"Why? Has something happened?"  
  
"Yes, as a matter of fact, something has." Duo proceeded to tell Wufei of all the strange things going on lately at the castle.  
  
"So you think Odin is the one doing it?" Wufei asked.  
  
"I don't know, but I don't know who else it could be. I think you should go tell Trowa all that you have told me so that he may be able to figure something out. Maybe this information will help him pick up on something."  
  
"Right away your majesty." And with that Wufei got up and left the meeting room in search of Trowa.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hey guys, that's all I'm writing for this chapter right now because I have writers block. I know, please don't be mad!!! I'm really sorry it took so long, but it really has been crazy this year. I think this chapter has a lot of info in it....maybe not, I donno. I'll try to update more frequently (I now I keep saying that, but I hope it will be true this time). I also have to write a chapter for one other story I haven't been updating much before I do this one again. I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you liked the chapter! And sorry for it being so short. I think it might be one of my shortest ones! 


	6. Speculation

Warnings: none for this chap Disclaimer: don't own  
  
**look at that! Another chapter! Yeay!!! I'll try to make it long, but I seem to have trouble doing that, something big in my head either comes out really short when I type, or needs to be separated in two chapters. So we'll see how it goes!**  
  
Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm glad to see I haven't lost everyone during my incredibly long break from writing. Which might happen again soon cause the quarter is almost over and the amount of work I have to do is frightening! But I well try to update more, I promise!  
  
OK enough banter! On with the fic!  
  
Chapter 6: Speculation  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
After Wufei left Duo in the meeting room he headed to Trowa's tower to relay the news to him. Wufei was tired from the trip and walking to the other side of the castle up the five flights of stairs to Trowa's "study" was not helping him. By the time he reached the top of the stairs he felt like finding a nice little corner and curling up for the next week to sleep. Somehow he kept his eyes away from the floor and knocked on Trowa's door.  
  
"Come in" he heard a voice say. He carefully pushed the door open just in case there was anything in the way of the door. For a mage who needs to get at different things, Trowa certainly kept his "Study" in a constant state of mess. Wufei couldn't remember the last time he saw any surface in the room clean and clear of junk and clutter.  
  
"Ah, Wufei! I see you have made it back from your trip safely." Trowa said from behind a pile of books.  
  
"Its still a mess up here I see"  
  
"A mess? I don't see a mess, everything is placed exactly where I want it to be." He replied without even lifting his head from whatever he was doing.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"A mysterious magic is being used on this castle. I am unable to trace it. I am looking to see if there are any records of this happening before and what was done to counteract it. What brings you up here by the way? You don't usually wander this far up."  
  
"That's why I came up here, I found out some rather interesting information from Glembogle concerning Heero. Duo asked me to tell you what I have learned in hopes of it help you on your search for the culprit." "Alright then. What are we waiting for?" Trowa put down his pen and looked at Wufei to show he was giving his full attention to whatever it was Wufei had to say. After seeing that he had Trowa's undivided attention he began to tell of everything he had learned while away.  
  
"Odin you say?"  
  
"Yes, I didn't catch his last name though."  
  
"Lowe."  
  
"What's that?" Wufei asked not quite hearing what Trowa had said.  
  
"His name is Odin Lowe." Wufei's eyes almost popped out of his head.  
  
"You know him?"  
  
"No, unfortunately I never got the chance to make his acquaintance."  
  
"Unfortunately?"  
  
"Yes, he is a very powerful sorcerer, much more powerful than most people think and give him credit for. He is a legend to every mage, who are the only people who know and understand his full potential.  
  
"He use to travel the world, holding small classes on how to hone ones power. These classes were near impossible to get into. A mage had to have sufficient power to begin with to even be considered a peon! I somehow managed to make it to the second name of the waiting list for one of his classes. So close and I didn't make it. He changes how he looks every time he goes someplace new so that no one will be able to recognize him. He's a pure genius!  
  
"However I never heard about him having a child with him. And I don't think Heero's lack of skill with magic would stop Odin from mentioning him. Heero probably never accompanied him on his journeys, instead staying at the palace doing chores and whatnot. But how is it possible that no word ever left Glembogle about Heero?"  
  
"Maybe no one knew he was with Odin" Wufei suggested helpfully.  
  
"No, the servants and maids of the palace would have surly known about him and Odin, and Palace staff never keep their mouth shut. There is always someone who talks."  
  
"What if Odin had put an memory eraser thing on Heero, so that when people were getting ready to talk about him they forgot what they were going to say, therefore never getting the word out."  
  
"Wufei, my dear friend, you read too many stories! First off, the King and Relena and probably everyone in the royal family were unaffected by this eraser spell. And secondly, those eraser spells never work out as they are supposed to. People would remember Heero, just not that he was with Odin. But there was never any talk of him, and if he had started off as a mage in training people would have known about him, and word would have gotten out."  
  
Trowa became very quite and stared into the stack of books as if he was trying to set them of fire, which Wufei was sure, he could accomplish if he really wanted to.  
  
"What if Heero isn't magic inept?" Wufei asked.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, what if Heero really was studying under Odin to be the next mage of Glembogle? If Odin is as prestigious as you say he is, they might have wanted to keep Heero's significance on the down low. They could have portrayed him as just another servant in the castle. Who would be able to counter what the King said was true?"  
  
"Interesting. However, if what you say is true, why would the King just banish Heero? Heero knows too much about the kingdom, and would obviously be pretty powerful if he was going to be the next Odin."  
  
"Well, then maybe they erased Heero's memory....is that possible to do?"  
  
"Yes, that is possible, only really powerful mages can accomplish such a feet where it does not affect the receiver. Heero doesn't have any traces of magic on him, nor does he have any traces of any spells being cast over him. Which either means we are completely wrong, or the same person doing all the weird things around here has done something to him as well."  
  
Just then a knock was herd on the door, throwing Trowa out of this concentration and nearly making him fall off his chair. "Come in!" Trowa called, a little hoarse, after somewhat recovering from his momentary loss of composure. Duo pushed the door open and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
"I'm sorry to interrupt you guys up here, but you have been here for awhile, which to me means you have either found something out or think you may have found something out. Either way something has happened up here, and I couldn't wait any longer."  
  
"Its perfectly all right your majesty. We believe Odin does have something to do with all the weird things happening around here. We also believe that Heero might have actually been studying to be the next mage in Glembogle." Trowa informed Duo.  
  
"But Wufei said that Odin told him that Heero had no magic talent." Duo stated with confusion.  
  
"Yes, that's what he told me, however, Trowa has informed me that Odin is a very powerful sorcerer, which would therefore prompt Glembogle to keep Heero's status unknown. They probably portrayed him as Odin's personal servant to explain all the time they spent together."  
  
"Can you sense any magic on Heero, Trowa?" Duo asked, turning to look at Trowa, his head slightly tilted to the side.  
  
"No, I can't, which also leads us to believe that Odin put a memory spell on Heero. Since we can't trace his magic usage no one would sense that Heero has been magically tampered with."  
  
"Well, what do you proposed we do about this then? I can't have a rogue mage interfering with plans and my palace."  
  
"We have to keep Heero under constant watch. Odin might try to make contact with him, but we don't know what Odin looks like, so anyone that approaches him must be questioned."  
  
"Wait, what do you mean we don't know what Odin looks like? Wufei saw him."  
  
"No, Odin changes his appearance where ever he goes so that no one will be able to recognize him."  
  
"Great! Just great! He could come here looking like me! For all you know I could be him!" Duo yelled.  
  
"Yes, that's true, you could be him. But if you are it's to late for us now, you would already know everything, therefore we wouldn't still be having this conversation."  
  
"Well we can't just watch Heero, that might not work, and might be more trouble then one can manage!"  
  
"I will also set magic traps, security spells, that will pick up traces of magic use and hopefully lead us to the user."  
  
"Good, good, I like that." Said Duo, calming down a bit. "Alright, I need to see if the doors have come back to the west wing yet. I need to make sure Heero is still there."  
  
"I'll get right to putting the security spells up, then I'll come down and try and reverse the disappearing door spell if they have not returned by the time I'm done."  
  
"Thank you Trowa, Wufei" Duo said, as he turned to the door, opening it with a slight pull and walking through it.  
  
"I shall be going as well. I need some rest after the trip, my ass is killing me!"  
  
"Yes, sorry to have kept you so long."  
  
"Oh, its quite all right, I wanted to be here for this, besides we may now be one step closer to figuring out what's been going on here." Wufei walked to the door and opened it, but before he walked out he turned back to Trowa and asked, "Do you think its possible for Heero to have done all this by himself?"  
  
"No, he's to young to have that much power, and it doesn't make sense. If he did it to himself why would Glembogle have gotten rid of him?"  
  
"Good point. I don't know. Well I'll talk to you later Trowa, if you find out anything new, I'll like to know."  
  
"Alright"  
  
Wufei walked out of Trowa's study, quietly shutting the door behind him as my made his way slowly to his nice, big, warm, soft bed.  
  
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yeay! I updated again!!!! And this was a longer chapter. I think one of the longest ive ever written! There was a lot of info in it to amazingly enough! Though how much of it is true and how much of it is false? I donno, you'll just have to keep reading! I hope the chapter made sence. I just typed it out cause it was on my mind and sent it in. I didn't really proof read it. Sorry, I'll try to do it later and if ther mistakes are bad enough I'll go back and fix it! Alrighty I hope u liked that chapter! 


	7. And The Culprit Is

Warnings: slight lime  
  
Disclaimer: still not mine, but the story is!  
  
Thank you to everyone who has review so far. You guys are great!  
  
another update! Yeay!!! Alright, this may be my last for a while, like a month and a half or so, I'm leaving school and I don't have a very good connection at home. Plus my mom doesn't like me on the computer there. However, once July rolls around I will hopefully have more chances of getting onto a computer so I shall try to update my fics!   
  
Chapter 7: And The Culprit Is...

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Heero had spent a good portion of the day trying to get out of his chained confinement, and another half trying to locate Odin. Odin was the only explanation for the mysterious things happening around the palace. No one else would find such bazaar tricks as amusing as he would. They were also Odin's way of letting Heero know that he was coming for him. They gave Heero hope that he would be getting out. He would have loved to respond back to Odin by doing a trick of his own but he was to weak to be able to do anything except keep his magic hidden, which was getting harder and harder to do.  
  
It was true Odin had used a memory spell on Heero when he was banished, but what no one knew was that it was only temporary. Heero's memory had only been gone for a week before he started remembering who and what he was, and by then he was long gone from Glembogle so it didn't matter anymore. When he had realized what had happened and that he was going to be sold as a slave he tried to get away but he was to weak from lack of food and just gaining his memories back to be able to successfully do anything. When he realized his predicament he just concentrated on hiding his power. Since he was no longer in Odin's presence, the old man was unable to help him in this feat. As Odin's "shield" slowly wore off Heero, his own shield grew. Odin had taught him how to hide his powers as one of his first lessons in magic and Heero had taken to it rather quickly. Hiding ones power was extremely hard and took a lot of power to accomplish such a task. No ordinary mage could do it. That's why it was a good thing Heero was no ordinary mage.  
  
He just wished he could do more now instead of hiding his power, he wished he could use the rest of it, but what Odin hadn't locked up inside of him was to weak to be used right now. The doors had reappeared about an hour ago and Duo had still not returned. Heero was exhausted from trying to free himself and make contact with Odin, that his fight with consciousness was short lasting.

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Duo's walk back to the West Wing was uneventful, but his attitude was uplifted when he got here. The doors had been returned to their proper places and when Duo entered his bed chamber any and all feelings of unease and unhappiness seeped out as his eyes landed on the handsome boy asleep on his bed.  
  
Duo walked over to the bed and stood at the edge just looking at the boy. Heero's head was facing the far wall away from Duo, his lips parted slightly. His left hand was by his head, loosely holding the chain that held his freedom, and his right hand was perpendicular to his body with his hand falling of the bed. The sheets made it half way up his chest before stopping to reveal smooth tan skin. Duo sat on the edge of the bed to get a better look at the boy. He leaned up against the back of the bed, letting his legs stretch out in front of him. His right hand moved on its own as it left its spot on his lap and traveled over to Heero where it landed on his collar bone and started to trace it before making the decent down his chest. Duo let his fingers gently glide over the perfect flesh under him. He was thrown out of his daydreaming when he heard a soft sigh escape the lips of the perfect mouth of the boy sleeping on the bed.  
  
Duo's self control flew out the window and he slowly brought his hand back up to gently hold Heero's chin, in order to make his lips easier to reach. When he had Heero's head where he wanted it he lowered himself until his lips lightly touched the ones under him. When he received no response he pressed his lips harder to the ones underneath, letting his tongue lick the lips. When another moan escape Heero's lips Duo took his chance and slipped his tongue inside the perfect mouth to taste him. This was all it took to awaken the slumbering boy with a start, but Duo was ready. He quickly released Heero's lips and brought his hand to the boy's throat.  
  
"Hello sleepy" Duo whispered, "How was your day?" When he received no answer he continued talking, "Mine was extremely interesting. You see, shortly after I left the West Wing, all the doors in it disappeared!" At this he let out a quick laugh before looking back down at Heero with a face completely void of all humor. "Would you have any idea of how that happened?"  
  
Heero shook his head to indicate that he didn't.  
  
"Well I guess I should also inform you that Wufei got back from Glembogle today. He met Odin while he was there." Duo paused to emphasize his point, but Heero never reacted to the name so Duo continued, "He discovered that you knew Odin quite well. As you may or may not know, Odin Lowe is a very powerful sorcerer, who is also quite old. It wouldn't be surprising to learn he had an apprentice. However, you see, no one knows of any apprentice he may have had....You spent a lot of time with him, do you know of anyone he may have been training?"  
  
Again Heero shook his head to show that he again did not know the answer.  
  
Duo let out a sigh, before releasing his hold on Heero's throat. "I'm sorry about the way I've been treating you, but when I'm around you I can't control myself. I've always gotten what I want, and I want you. I'm to exhausted tonight to do anything with you tonight, which is why I'm telling you this, because I don't want you to fear me. I want us to be able to have a relationship, master to slave of course, but a relationship none the less. Of course, I won't take No for an answer, so you better decide how you want this to be. If you say Yes, then things will go smoothly for you, but if you say No I can make your life a living Hell." He turned to look down into Heero's passive face again, "I'll give you a day to think about it." And with that he got off the bed and walked over to the door leading to his studying walking through it and leaving Heero alone in the room with his thoughts.

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The young Queedmore King could be seen pacing the thrown hall with his advisor standing to the side acting passive.  
  
"Odin Lowe, my God, are you sure?" the King asked.  
  
"One Hundred percent your Majesty"  
  
"We need that slave. Odin must have trained him, why else would he be going after him?!? We will use the slave as bate to capture Odin, and maybe even make him work for us. Zechs, get you squadron together. You have a new mission."

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Trowa finally finished putting the spell traps up around dawn. Because Duo never came back to him he assume the doors had returned in the West Wing, but because it as always bad to assume, he made the trip down to the Kings chambers.  
  
When he reached the West Wing he noticed that the doors had in fact return. He was getting ready to turn back to head to his tower to try and get some shut eye before the morning, when he saw someone walking towards Duo's study. It didn't take him long to realize it was Duo.  
  
"Your Majesty!" he called out, catching Duo off guard.  
  
"Jesus, Trowa, you scared the shit out of me!"  
  
"Sorry sir."  
  
"Ah, its alright" Duo said with a laugh, "What are you still doing up? And why are you down here?"  
  
"I just finished putting all the magic traps around the castle, so I came down to make sure the doors had returned to the West Wing."  
  
"Yes, well thank god, they've returned! That really was the weirdest thing this afternoon."  
  
"I agree, I still can't figure out why these things are happening. They just don't make any sense!"  
  
"I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later, Trowa."  
  
"I hope your right, but I'm starting to worry. If it is Odin doing these things, they are so menial it worries me to think what his grand finale will be."  
  
"Well, we'll just have to find him and stop him before he can do it, won't we?"  
  
"Yes, sir"  
  
"Good, well Trowa, its extremely late, and I have a city to run in the morning, so I'm going to bed. I suggest you do the same. You will be no good to me if your to tired to think!"  
  
"Very well sir. Good night."  
  
"Good night Trowa."  
  
Duo walked the few steps left to his study door before opening it and walking in, silently closing the door behind him, and Trowa left, making his way back to his part of the castle.  
  
Little did either of them know that far in the distance, Zechs and 100 of Queedmores finest men were on their way to kidnap the King's perfect new slave.

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Not to long, but full of info. But I have a final tomorrow, and this was one long break from studying. I didn't really get a chance to proof it, but if its really bad I might redo it later. I hope everyone enjoyed it!  
  
Now for another hour of studying before bed! (yuck!)


	8. From One To The Other

Warnings: ummm...........

Disclaimer: still not mine, but the story is! 

Another update! Sorry for the delay, I'm gonna stop saying sorry for the delays cause I'm never doing it when I say I will. So just know that I'm gonna try to update as soon as I can.

Thanks to all those who have reviewed so far! I love you guys!!!

Chapter 8: From one to the other

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Zechs had become Colonel of the Queedmore army at age 19. Now at age 24 he was the General of the army and the young King's advisor. A year ago the king had asked Zechs to create a group of elite soldiers made from all of the different ranks in the army, this group became known as the DD's or Dare Devils. They trained with their normal squadrons during the day, but met with the DD's every night for extra training the regular regiments never learned. Zechs was proud of the progress his men of the DD's had made over the last year, they had come from being normal soldiers to being the best of the best. All of them were sharp shooters, they were all pros on explosives, they all had at least a minimal amount of magic, they were fast, they were secretive, and they were like brothers. They held the top score for infiltrating the test house and eliminating all "threat." Zechs new he was taking his men on one of the hardest missions they had ever been on, and probably will ever be on. But he was confident his men would come out on top.

The Maxwell Kingdom was a strong kingdom, but its army was no match for Queedmore's, and they had no idea about the DD's. The only reason Queedmore had not taken over Berkinshire already was because of Trowa their mage, who at one point, had been among the top five best mages in the country. However, the DD's had a surprise for Trowa, for each one of them had their own amount of magical power. No one parson had as much power as Trowa did, but with all of them put together they had enough power to distract Trowa while a few of the soldiers captured the slave.

By sunrise the next day the DD's could see the Maxwell castle in the distance. They would reach the outskirts of the village by late morning. Having the castle insight made the men more anxious and the closer they got the quieter they got, mentally preparing themselves for what would be happening later that day.

By the time they reached the outskirts of the town the sun was high in the sky blazing down on the men.

"Trowa has set up a lot of magic traps, most likely to slow Odin down. This will prove to be a little trickier then we originally imagined it would be. First Squadron go to the far side of the castle and spread out. Destroy as many as the traps as you can. Second Squadron, do the same from the front. Third Squadron, hide in the woods, and find Trowa, don't let him repair the traps. Fourth Squardon will be infiltrating the castle with me and capturing the slave. We will give the rest of you an hour to start before we enter. We will rendezvous back here when we have the slave. Everyone knows what they are to be doing, lets go!" Zechs gave out the orders before taking his men to the woods to relax for the next hour before entering the castle and completing their objective.

Zech could feel the magical barriers of the castle start to fight back his men. He knew Trowa would have his hands full trying to keep it up. His only concern now was what they would do with the slave. If they thought it was Odin trying to brake their defenses they might have put more protections such as spells and guards around the slave to protect him. Zechs smirked with the thought. He had full confidence that the DD's could handle anything Maxwell threw at them.

The hour passed by quickly to the men of Fourth Squadron who were ready to show their leader that they were ready to take on this mission. When the hour was up Zechs motioned for his men to fall in behind him on their way to the castle…

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When Trowa felt his barrier start to act up he thought of the worst. However, he also felt his traps being destroyed at the same time that another force was attacking the barrier. He didn't think Odin would have anyone with him, and if so they wouldn't be able to disable the traps so quickly. No, this was something else. He went down to Duos quarters to tell Dup what as going on. On his travels to the West Wing he saw Dup in the hall on his way to what looked to be the kitchen.

"Your Majesty!" Trowa called.

"Ah, Trowa! How are you? Did you sleep well?" Dup asked in his normal cheerful mood.

"Um, yes I slept well, but I have some disconcerting news."

"What's wrong?"

"My barriers and traps are being messed with"

"Odin?"

"I don't think so, it's a great force that's bombarding both the barriers and the traps. It feels like the power is coming from a bunch of different sources. I don't think Odin would have very many people with him, if any at all."

"So then what do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure. I thought it might have been mages from Glembogle trying to get Heero back. But then I threw that idea away. I don't think they realize what Heero was to Odin, and I don't think they know that Heero is here."

"Then who is it?"

"I don't know. It might be Queedmore trying to finally see if they can take us over. I wouldn't put it past them to try, but the timing seems off, and the fact we had no idea they were coming makes me not think that's the reason for this attack."

"So then it is about Heero."

"Most likely yes. But who knows about him? And the only reason anyone would be after Heero is to get to Odin. But like we already know, not even the people in Glembogle knew about Heero and Odin's relationship. So I still don't understand who could be behind this attack, or if it truly is over Heero."

"Well we need to protect him anyway then, just to be sure."

"I'm sorry but I don't think I will be able to produce anymore charms or spells to protect him. I have my hands full keeping this barrier up and repairing the traps they tear down."

"Alright, I understand, I will get my guards to surround my rooms."

"I'm sorry sir."

"No, its ok, they must have a lot of people. Lets just hope we can stop them."

Duo left Trowa in search of Wufei, who he knew would be in the weapons room practicing or meditating. When he got to the room he saw Wufei sitting in the middle of the floor, eyes closed, hands together held about chest height.

"Wufei, sorry to disturb you but I need you to get your men." Wufei opened his eyes and looked at Duo, the only person in the castle who could disturb Wufei during meditation without fear of being hurt. When he saw the desperation in Duo's eyes he lowered his hands and stood up from his spot.

"Sir, what's wrong?"

"The castle is under attack. Trowa is doing everything he can to keep his barriers up. I need men to protect Heero though. We think the people attacking the castle might be after him. Along with soldiers to guard Heero, I need archers and swordsmen to go out and try and take out the people bringing on this attack."

"Yes sir. Stay away from your chambers. I will have my men guard Heero, but if anything happens I don't want you to be there and risk your safety." Wufei saluted before walking past Duo in the direction of the soldiers lodging.

Duo left the room shortly after Wufei in search of the kitchen to find some food to calm his nerves a bit before he went in search of Trowa to see what was happening.

After grabbing a muffin from the kitchen Duo made his way up to Trowa's tower. He finished the muffin just as he started the climb up the stairs. When he got to the top and was standing on the landing outside of Trowa's study, he realize how quiet it was on the other side of the door. When he opened the door he saw a look of horror on Trowa's face.

"They've entered the castle" Trowa whispered. If Duo couldn't read lips he would never have known what Trowa just said. Duo froze in place with this new knowledge.

"What does this mean? How many are there? Where are they headed?"

"The guards have taken down a few of the men but at least 20 have entered the castle."

"How many of our men have gone down?"

"I can't tell, but I'd say about 10 so far."

Duo slowly sank down into a nearby chair as the color drained from his face. This was his first attack on the castle while he was in charge and he was completely unprepared and instead of being in the front lines leading he was in the top tower hiding from the invaders.

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Zechs couldn't believe their luck. Unfortunately they had lost a few men due to Maxwell's archers, but actually getting into the castle took little effort. Zechs led the way through the castle heading for the part of the castle he knew to be the Kings residence.

He slowed down when he realized they were getting close. He signaled some of the men to go on ahead and check it out. Five of the men went on ahead and went out of sight around the corner.

A few seconds later the men who stayed behind saw a bright blue light and herd a few shocked gasps followed shortly by the sound of bodies hitting the floor. Zechs got up from his crouching position and started to head to the corner, signaling the rest of the men to follow him. When he got to the corner he peeked around to find no one in the hall. He then ran to the door that was slightly open with bright blue light spilling out into the hall and sounds of more bodies falling could be heard. When Zechs counted to three and entered the room he could feel the power the five men were using to render the enemy soldiers unconscious. This trick also worked to make the slave unconscious, guaranteeing an easy carry out. Zechs signaled the rest of the men to help with the enemy soldiers, while calling two to help him release the slave. The chain around his wrist was easy to get off, but the collar around his neck was a little trickier, locked by magic, it took the concentration of a few of the men to weaken it enough for a normal unlocking spell to work.

When Zechs took the collar off he noticed a lot of evenly spaced scabs on the slaves neck.

/looks like the king treated his slave with care/ Zechs thought sarcastically while he lifted the thin form of the slave over his shoulder _/didn't feed him much either/_. When his men saw they had their charge over their leaders shoulder half of the men left the room, the rest waiting to leave after Zechs to protect him from all sides.

The exit from the castle was one mad dash to the outskirts of the town. Some of Maxwell's soldiers followed the retreating Queedmore soldiers but were soon face down in the mud as one last blast was sent out by fourth squadron to stop the chase.

Once in a safe distance from the castle the men slowed down and moved into the woods. Trackers would be after them soon and they didn't want their trail to be too obvious. They would not stop to rest until they had reached their home and their captive was under their own lock and key. King Winner would be please with their outcome. Not only did they capture the slave, but they only lost 3 men. The loss was unfortunate, but one Zechs was sure the King would not mind. In fact, Zechs was sure that as long as the slave made it to Queedmore, Quatre would not care how many men they lost.

The walk was long and slow, but as the sun started setting and the men reached the top of yet another hill the Queedmroe castle could finally be seen in the distance. Surprisingly the slave had woken up twice on the trip, calling for one of the men to use some magic and knock him unconscious. Usually the spell would last for at least four hours, and they had only been walking for five. Zechs was beginning to think Heero was more important then they had originally given him credit for.

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When Duo came down from the tower he headed straight for his rooms. When he got there he found his guards unconscious on the floor, and his bed empty except for the chain and collar he had had on Heero.

/I have to get him back/ Dou thought as he sat on the bed _/If it's the last thing I do, Quatre will not take my slave away from me and not feel the consequences/._

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And that's a wrap folks. Sorry its not longer but this computer is even slower then it was yesterday! I hope you all liked the chapter, I bet theres more spelling mistakes in this chapter then any others, but I got to get away from this thing! I'm sorry! But if you R&R I'll love you forever :) .


	9. Queedmore

Sorry for the delay and sorry for any confusion i have created at the end of the last chapter when Heero is being taken away. i used the word 'calling' instead of a better suited word such as 'requiring' or somethign liek that. Heero did not ask to be knocked out, because he woke up teh soldiers 'had' to reknock him out. I'm sorry for any confusion this may have created.

Chapter 9: Forbidden Fruit

Heero awoke to find himself curled into a ball on a cold cement floor. A barred window stood 8 feet over his head. The sounds of songbirds going about their morning routines could be heard coming through the window. A guard sat on a stool on the opposite wall. A long gun leaned against the wall to his left side. The guard was absorbed in his book, or so Heero thought until he moved, causing the chains to clink together as if protesting the move. The guard look up in Heero's direction to see what was happening. When he realized Heero was looking back at him he got up and walked to the door in the far left hand corner and banged on the door two times. In response, the door opened and another guard poked his head in. The first guard whispered something to the second and before Heero knew what was going on the door was closed again and the original guard was walking back to his seat.

"The King is coming" he said in a thick accent Heero couldn't place, though he knew he wasn't in Berkinshire anymore. The events from the night before slowly came back to him. His head felt like it had been beaten by a hundred mages simultaneously. The last thing he could remember was laying in Duo's bed when all of a sudden the door opened and what seemed like 20 men came storming in, and that's where things get fuzzy.

Heero didn't have to wait long for the King to arrive. Apparently he had been waiting close by in order to arrive as soon as Heero woke up.

When he heard the door creaking open he looked to see who it was that was causing the noise. Heero gasped when he saw the man who entered.

Standing at the door was a slender man of medium build and pure locks of gold hair that simmered in the rays of sunlight trying to get through the window to shine on this man. Heero recognized him immediately as Quatre Winner. Though he was sure Quatre didn't recognize him.

Last time Heero saw Quatre he was with Odin and in disguise as a girl, one of his less fond memories. However, Odin had given a lecture in Queedmore a few months before Heero was banished from Glembogle. Odin had told him an important person to that country would be coming, but had not told Heero it was going to be Quatre. Kings, unlike mages, had an automatic invite to Odin's lectures simply because they were the king. This not only infuriated Odin, but he passed this anger on to Heero, who took great offence to it. Five seats that could have been given to five top mages were reserved for the King and four of him men, usually his top advisor and three bodyguards. Unlike most kings who show up merely to gloat about having been to one of Odin's lectures, Quatre looked genuinely interested in what Odin had to say. However the only disconcerting part about him being there was that his bodyguards and top advisor looked interested too. Odin's magic was not to be used to harm people and he certainly didn't want what he taught to be used in any negative way. Because of this he never taught a full trick, never used more then the tiniest amount of his power, and always scanned the audience to see their energy levels to make sure what he taught wasn't going into the hands of some power hungry crazy person. However, what he taught could be used in connection with other spells, and a really determined person could work on and refine his spells to make them better.

To put a check on how his magic was being used, all person attending his lectures had to sign a contract that they would not use what he teaches in any negative way. Mages and wizards known to be affiliated with the dark arts were not allowed entrance and a tracker spell was cast on every person attending the lectures without their knowledge.

Heero got a bad vibe from Quatre and his men the moment he saw them as a young girl pretending to be a hired assistant to help Odin with the lecture. It was only the second lecture Heero has been allowed to attend.

Back in the prison room Heero recognized the man standing next to Quarter as his top advisor from the lector and as the man who was the first to enter the room he had been in before coming here.

/They must know of my connection with Odin….but that's impossible. How could they have figured it out/

"Welcome to Queedmore!" Quatre exclaimed in an excited voice. "I'm sorry for your current condition, but you see, we weren't sure how you'd react to a new place and we had to take all precautions. But as we all can see, you have been very calm and relaxed and I think I nice walk through the gardens would do everyone a bit of good!" as Quatre was talking he waved the original guard over to Heero to unlock him from his restraints. When the cuffs where finally off, Heero rubbed his wrists, happy to have them free once more.

"Please, come this way" Quatre said holding his right arm out to Heero and his left out towards the door. Heero walked uncertainly over toward the door Quatre was holding his arm out to. Quatre followed closely behind and Zechs was right behind him.

Heero felt weird leading the way in a foreign palace, but his uncertainly soon vanished when Quatre wrapped his arm around Heero's neck and guided him in the right direction.

"So, Heero, how have you liked Berkinshire? Were you shown all the sites?"

"Not yet" Heero replied.

"That's a shame, there are some magnificent views there." They made a left and Heero could see a set of huge double doors on the right-hand side guarded by two guards, one on each side. Quatre stopped in front of the doors and waited for the guards to open the doors to let them through. Before their eyes a huge expanse of trees, flowers, grass and fountains met their eyes and far in the distance Heero could see the other side of the castle. They were in an enclosed space. This huge garden was in the center of the castle. Not open. Heero could only imagine what the backyard to this castle must look like if this was only the central garden.

They walked along a path that went through the middle of the garden following a little stream that went from the head fountain down and around the middle fountain to the other end where it probably ended at another fountain or small pond or both.

"Why am I here?" He had to ask, he knew Quatre was waiting for it and that he wouldn't give anything away until asked that simple question. Heero was not in a playing mood and just wanted to know what was happening. He had a feeling it was about Odin and he wasn't about to become bait to the only person who ever showed him kindness.

"I'm glad you asked that. Its quite simple you see. I felt that you were not in a safe environment in Berkinshire and I wanted to help you out."

"I'm a slave. Why would you want to help me? Besides, I wasn't complaining, I didn't ask for your help, how did you know to come?"

"I was informed of your situation, and I couldn't let you go on like that knowing what was happening."

"So what are you going to do with me? Am I now a slave here? A captive? Or and I free?"

"Well you are certainly free. I don't see any chains on you."

"So I can leave at any time then?"

"Well you could. But I wouldn't suggest it. Anyone leaving the castle without my permission is subjected to either the shoot-first-ask-later rule or arrest. And I don't think you want either. But you are allowed out here, so you are not stuck inside."

"How long?"

"How long what?"

"Will I be here?"

"Oh, I don't know. We'll play that by ear." When they reached the middle fountain they made a right and continued down a different path that was leading to a set of doors similar to the ones they had entered the courtyard from except these were located on a different side of the castle. Heero realized he could easily get lost in this castle and just as easily get turned around in the garden. He was good with directions, but the garden was symmetrical and a long walk though it if not paying attention could lead to not knowing what door to use when trying to leave it.

The walk to Heero's room was uneventful. Quatre and Zech's talked a little and a few random questions were asked to Heero, who still had Quatre's arm draped around his shoulders leading him.

Heero's room was on the second floor in almost above the doors they had used to walk back into the castle. The room was huge, at least the size of a normal gym. The bed was king sized with a canopy of the right hand wall. A walk in closet sat to the left of the bed and another door on the right lead to Heero's own private bathroom. The left side of the room was like a sitting area with a couch, and two plush armchairs. A desk sat against the left hand wall and a fireplace was on the adjacent. And directly in front of him was a balcony with sliding doors to get onto it, and on both sides of the doors it was just a wall full of windows. Not quite floor to ceiling but pretty close. There was a gorgeous view of the garden and the other side of the building was far enough away that it didn't make the viewer feel like they were looking at an enclosed area. The curtains were large light blue sheets of silk with a thicker dark blue velvet covering. The walls were all a painted with a rich blue and the furniture though not the same color as the wall or curtains all matched and went with the room perfectly. The rug was thick and soft and Heero's feet sank into it when he walked into the room.

Heero realized he could get use to this room very quickly. It was the cream of the crops. He had never seen anything so luxurious yet calming and peaceful with a feeling of casual. He felt like he was in heaven, except that he couldn't leave this building.

"I hope you enjoy your stay. Rashid will be by later to pick you up to take you to the dinning hall for dinner. Tonight I would like you to attend though usually if you want you can eat in your room." When he had finished talking Quatre shut the door to the room behind him. Heero just stood in the middle of the room looking around in amazement. To have such wealth was unbelievable.

/How does someone get this rich/ He thought to himself.

He walked over to the balcony and opened the doors to let some fresh air into the room. On the balcony was a cushioned swinging bench, two chairs and a table, as well as a few plotted plants and a vine climbing along the railing. Heero sat on the swinging bench and worked on sending a warning out to Odin without it being detectable to any of Quatre's mages or wizards.

Phew! That's done. Not to exciting. But it's a new chapter. Hopefully I'll get another out soon, though I do need to work on my other story as well. Well hopefully something will be updated soon! Hope you enjoyed and maybe the next chapter will have a little more action in it. I tried a slightly different writing style for this chapter, at least in the beginning. If anyone noticed and liked please let me know. If u didn't notice tell me that too, and I think I added more descriptions, which is something I've been trying to do for a while, if I did and it worked tell me and if it didn't work tell me that to, and if you prefer less detail tell me that too! Sometimes I get sick of reading all about detail because I like making it up in my head, but other people like being given all the info so please tell me what you like better and I'll consider it in my next chapters!


	10. The Banquet

A new chapter! Woot!

Warnings: none

Disclaimer: first chapter

Please R&R

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Chapter 10: The Banquet

Just as Heero was finishing his warning to Odin he heard a knock on the door to his room. He thought it to early to be dinner time, so when he opened the door to find a woman servant standing at the door he wasn't much surprised. However, what he was surprised to see was what she has carrying.

"My Lord has asked me to bring you these things. They are for you to wear tonight to dinner so that you match all the guests"

"Guests? Is there something special happening tonight?" Heero asked the woman.

"Master Quatre is holding a master Banquet tonight. Nobles from all over will be attending."

Heero moved aside to let her into the room. She walked over to the bed and put the clothes down onto it, neatly spreading them out over one side of the bed.

"I'll be back in half an hour to check up on you and make sure everything fits and is on correctly. Rashid will be by shortly after to take you to the banquet."

"Thank you" he said as she walked to the door and quietly closed the door behind her.

On the bed lay the most beautiful suit Heero had ever laid eyes on; black silk with silver embroidery along the cuffs of the sleeves and along the edges of the jacket, the collar of the jacket went up to go about ¾ around the next leaving the throat open. A white silk button down shirt was placed next to the jacket. Finally there were two silk socks and a pair of black dress shoes.

Heero decided to get a shower before putting on clothes as beautiful as these. Walked over to his own personal bathroom he noticed that a large shaggy towel was hanging on the rack all ready to be used by him, as well as shampoo and conditioner in the shower. He stripped down and turned the water on. It was already warm so he switched the lever to turn the shower on. The warm water sprinkled calmly and smoothly down his well defined body. After using both the flowery smelling shampoo and conditioner and scrubbing himself down with soap he turned the shower off and reached for the towel. It was soft and warm. After drying off he wrapped it around his waist and went back over to the bed to start getting dressed.

He had just finished getting dressed and was admiring himself in his full length mirror when he heard a knock on the door. He walked over to let the person in. It was the same woman from before, as she had promised. Before Heero could even let her into the room she walked up to him and reached her arms to the buttons of the jacket, which Heero had left undone.

"All buttons must be buttoned. After dinner it is proper to unbutton to show respect for the food, but it is uncommon for someone of your standing to do so."

"My standing?" Heero gave her a questioning look, which the woman easily ignored to continue on with her buttoning, "What's my standing?"

Now she looked up at him for her turn to give him a questioning look, "You are the son of the greatest wizard ever. Aside from The king and Odin, you will have the highest standing there." Heero looked at her shocked and almost forgot to breath.

Finally he chocked out, "Is that so?" and as to not draw any suspicions from her he added, "the third highest standing? I had no idea I'd be that important!" he let off a little laugh to hide his nervousness. The woman smiled at him, obviously convinced of his little performance.

/The son! Odin! He's here! Why didn't Quatre say anything to me about it? Is Odin coming on his own free will or is he captured? Is this going to be a surprise reunion between the two of us so that Quatre can see first hand if we make any sort of twitch at seeing each other? What is going on/ Heero's mind was racing will all sorts of questions and now he was getting nervous about this possible meeting with his former master and teacher. /Quatre must have just told that to his servants, there is no way he could possibly believe that, no one has ever suspected Odin to have a child. Even it Quatre does believe that I am Odin's son, I will act as if this is the first time I've ever seen him before/. He knew that he would be able to hold back any signs of shock when being introduced to Odin because he was now expecting the reunion and he knew that he would not be able to recognize the face Odin hid behind tonight. However, although he knew Odin was good at hiding what he felt he had no idea how Odin would react when seeing him again. He just hoped that Odin was able to pick up where his warning had been sent from so he could at least be a little prepared for seeing Heero again.

As the woman was buttoning the last button on the jacket which was the button right before the collar, Rashid walked up to the door.

"Dressing him in the hall Miriam?"

"Oh hush, its just buttons, I don't need to be behind closed doors to do that," she said as she finished with the button and then running her hands quickly over the jacket to smooth out any rinkles, "ok, he's all yours!"

Rashid was a big man with pointy little eyes and a mustache. He was not the type of man you'd want to get into a fight with, though from his attitude towards Miriam, he seemed like he could be a nice bloke once you got to know him. However Heero was hoping he wouldn't have to be here long enough to get to know anyone.

Rashid led him down the hall to the stairs and then down another hall to the ballroom where the banquet was being held.

"Follow me, I will show you to your seat. You will be sitting at a table with Master Quatre, the King's advisor and General of the Army Zechs, His majesties second advisor Treize, His majesties diplomatic advisor Relena, and of course Odin Lowe, as well as a few other people."

When they walked into the banquet hall from a side door Heero could see the main entrance of the hall which lead out to the driveway being used very well by people entering for the party. The table Heero was being lead to was a long rectangular one sitting five steps higher than the rest. All the seats were taken except one. Quatre was in the middle, followed by Zechs on his left, and Treize next to him. To the right of Quatre was Odin and next to him was an empty seat. As Rashid had mentioned there were a few other people at the table of whom Heero had no idea who they were. Rashid brought Heero to the front of the table where he bowed low in front of Quatre who then rose and gave a small bow of acknowledgment before turning his attention to Heero.

"Heero! You look splendid!" he said, raising his arms out in front of him to show excitement. "Come up here and let me introduce you to everyone." He waved Heero up.

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At the mention of Heero's name Odin didn't move a muscle. He had been looking up and the newcomer to the table and had recognized him immediately. He had indeed checked to see where the warning had been coming from and was expecting to see him tonight. This helped his rescue mission of Heero as well as hindered it. He now knew where Heero was, but was as yet unsure how to get Heero without raising any suspicions that it was him to sprung him from the castle.

When Quatre introduced Heero to Odin, he was surprised and pleased to find how well Heero hid any hint of ever having had a relationship with the great wizard.

"It's a pleasure" Heero had said to Odin shaking his hand.

"Likewise" Odin replied.

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Quatre's brow's had furrowed for a brief instant but the look was gone as quickly as it had shown up. After being introduced to everyone else at the table Heero was lead back to the empty seat next to Odin, which he took and looked out over the banquet hall.

It was almost completely full now. A few people were still trickling in, but other than that, it looked like dinner would be served soon.

As the last few people settled into their seats Quatre stood and spread his arms out to address all the people sitting at the tables on the floor.

"My fellow countrymen and women, Welcome!" He paused for the applause, "I thank you all for coming tonight to help me honor the greatest wizard to ever live! I have tried time and again to convince him to come to Queedmore, but alas he has declined every time. However, he has honored me with his acceptance of this feast tonight!" he pauses again for more applause, "He is actually here more for diplomatic purposes. Queedmore and Glembogle have started a partnership together!" Quartre's beaming face was only more encouragement for the roar of applause that time. "This partnership will strengthen both our armies, imports and exports between the two countries will be cheaper and shipped faster." More applause again, "I look forward to all the benefits that will come from this partnership, as I'm sure all of you do too," a few chuckles, "and now let me be the first to say…On with the feast!" The end of Quatre's speech was met with applause and shouting, as well as the startup of music from the small orchestra in the corner. Servants carried plates of food out to the tables.

It was like a buffet without having to get up. Big platters of salad, chicken, beef, vegetables and bread were placed on each table. Heero was a big beef fan and had no problem loading his plate with the succulent meat, while Odin was a chicken fan and picked out a piece of tender breast meat to place on his plate. The two made small talk with each other, to seem polite. Neither asking anything terrible important or interesting, though they did somehow find themselves on the topic of the conditions the farmers faced in the surrounding countries. Which turned into the main topic of discussion at the head table and even raised a heated debate between Zechs and one of the people Heero didn't know. To calms the nerves of the two men Quatre signaled for dessert to be brought in. The almost empty platters were replaced with big platters of different kinds of fruits and cakes.

After Dessert there were fireworks to watch. Everyone went out into the cool night air to watch the beautiful display of colors in the night sky. A chorus of "ooohs" and "aaahs" could be heard with each new firework.

As the show ended some people decided it was time to leave while others decided to dance a while longer and the hardwood dance floor in the ballroom.

During the fireworks, Heero and Odin had been able to slip out of sight into the labyrinth of bushes in the yard.

In a quite whisper that Heero could barely hear Odin asked, "How have you been, boy?"

In the same quiet tone Heero answered, "Fine, but its been crazy. Was that you doing all of that in Berkinshire?"

Odin laughed, "ah yes, yes, that was me. I couldn't resist. I needed to let you know I had found you, and I was so upset with your banishment I had to cheer myself up somehow. But as I was trying to figure out how one man would get you out. I played those pranks so you'd know I hadn't forgotten about you and so that the people there would never know what to expect. Plus I like seeing Trowa try and handle my spells. He did quite a good job. He tried to get into one of my lectures once. I wanted him to come, but at that point he wasn't strong enough. I met him for a cup of coffee, though he doesn't realize it was me. He's a smart one he is. With the right trainer he could be so powerful." Odin looked down with a sorrowful look.

"You saying you want to take him on as a pupil?" Heero asked amazed, Odin hadn't even wanted to train him; it was all an accident for how he became his pupil.

"No, I don't want to train him. I'm not a trainer. I lecture. You were my one and only true pupil. But I taught you by doing my own thing. You learned by watching and copying and by me sometimes helping you specifically. But I can't do that for everyone. That method of teaching requires a lot of time and I don't want to deal with that anymore. But I wish I had been able to help him when he was younger. He had such spirit; just like you did." Odin took a moment to reflect before continuing, "But anyway, we are not here to talk about Trowa. We have more important matters at hand." Odin stopped walking and turned to look at Heero, "We have to figure out how to get you out of here. It won't be easy since they suspect a connection between us. I won't be able to take you with me when I go. And I think it would be dangerous to get you out of here while I'm still here. So I think you may be stuck here a little longer, unless you can figure a way out without needing my help."

Heero shook his head, "Not without getting a good layout and feel of the place and that could take awhile, and then I'd need to learn all the magical capabilities of all the guards and spells here. And with not having used any magic in a while I'm a little rusty on some of the more powerful spells I may need."

"Yes I thought that might be a problem." Odin sighed. "We should go back before they suspect anything. I will be here for a few days, we will talk later about what we will do."

"Right. I'll stay in the maze so that we don't leave at the same time."

"Sounds good." Odin looked up into the sky just as another firework exploded, "The fireworks are still going, hopefully no one has noticed our absence."

Heero stood in the spot they had been talking and watched Odin's retreating back until he was too far gone and it was too dark to see him anymore. Heero wandered around the maze a little more until he felt enough time had passed and then made his way out of the maze. The fireworks were over so he slowly made his way back to the banquet hall where there was still music and dancing going on.

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ok….another chapter…not sure I like it much….let me know what you thought!


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